Uganda declares end to latest Ebola outbreak
Uganda has officially declared the end of its latest Ebola outbreak, three months after the first cases emerged in the capital, Kampala.
The Ministry of Health announced the milestone on Saturday via its official X account, calling it 'good news' and confirming that 42 days had passed without new infections since the last patient was discharged.
'During this outbreak, 14 cases, 12 confirmed and two not confirmed through laboratory tests [probable], were reported. Four deaths, two confirmed and two probable, occurred. Ten people recovered from the infection,' The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus applauded the Ugandan Health Ministry for its 'leadership and commitment' in overcoming the outbreak. 'Congratulations to the government and health workers of #Uganda on ending the #Ebola outbreak,' he said on X on Saturday.
Ebola infections are frequent in Uganda which has many tropical forests that are natural reservoirs for the virus.
The latest outbreak, caused by the Sudan strain of the virus, was detected on January 30 this year when a male nurse contracted the virus and later died. The strain has no approved vaccine.
It was Uganda's ninth outbreak since the country recorded its first infection in 2000.
Neighbouring the Democratic Republic of the Congo – a country that has experienced more than a dozen outbreaks, including one from 2018 to 2020 which killed nearly 2,300 people – Uganda remains highly vulnerable to the spread of the disease.
The latest outbreak began in Kampala, a bustling city of four million people and a key transit hub linking eastern DRC, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan. Health experts say Uganda has been able to leverage on its experience battling the disease over the years to bring them under control relatively quickly.
Ebola is spread through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissues, with symptoms such as severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting blood and internal bleeding.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Qatar Tribune
Saudi Health Ministry honours Qatari Hajj medical unit for its outstanding services
QNA Riyadh The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health has honoured the Qatari Hajj Mission's medical unit, in recognition of its effective role in providing high-quality healthcare services in the 1446 AH Hajj season. In this context, medical unit head Dr. Khalid Abdul Hadi received a certificate of appreciation on behalf his team. This recognition reflects the medical unit's outstanding services, which stem from its objective of providing Qatar's pilgrims with a fully integrated healthcare system in Mecca and the holy sites around the clock. The medical unit's clinics are staffed with a specialized medical team of various specializations, including internal medicine, cardiology, emergency medicine, infectious diseases, ENT, nursing, ambulance services, and pharmacy. In a statement issued Monday, the Qatari Hajj mission said that this recognition is the result of the State of Qatar's approach under its wise leadership to offer the country's pilgrims with the highest levels of support and care, with the Qatari Hajj mission's service, technical, and support units unifying their efforts to ensure that pilgrims perform their rituals in a safe and healthy environment that provides maximum peace of mind and comfort. The medical unit has set up field clinics fully equipped with state-of-the-art medical apparatus and has deployed a top-level ambulance and a team of doctors and nurses to monitor and accompany pilgrims across holy sites, including Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina, to ensure a rapid response to emergencies. The Qatari Hajj mission's healthcare services are one of the most outstanding aspects of Qatar's Hajj experience. They consist of proactive medical care, applying the highest safety and prevention standards, in addition to raising pilgrims' awareness and educating them on health-related matters before and during the pilgrimage. The Qatari Hajj mission highly values this recognition from the Saudi Ministry of Health, which embodies the deep fraternal ties and joint cooperation in serving the pilgrims. It also reflects the exemplary coordination between Qatari and Saudi authorities to ensure a successful and distinguished Hajj season on all levels.
Qatar Tribune
3 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
World Health Organization wants flavoured tobacco products banned
In light of the number of young tobacco users, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday urgently called on governments to ban flavoured tobacco and nicotine products. The organization specifically mentioned flavours such as menthol, bubble gum and cotton candy. Such flavours turn toxic products into youth-friendly bait, the WHO wrote in a statement for World No Tobacco Day, which is on Saturday. The products are also linked to severe lung diseases, the organization added. Flavours, stylish packaging for e-cigarettes, and advertising on social media are specifically aimed at young users, the WHO said. In 2022, 12.5% of minors in the WHO European Region, which includes 53 countries, used e-cigarettes, compared to 2% of adults. Flavours are designed to spark curiosity among children and adolescents, encouraging them to experiment, which can lead to addiction. A ban could protect young people, the international health agency said. 'Flavours are fuelling a new wave of addiction, and should be banned,' said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement. 'They undermine decades of progress in tobacco control. Without bold action, the global tobacco epidemic, already killing around 8 million people each year, will continue to be driven by addiction dressed up with appealing flavours,' he added. Some existing bans The WHO highlighted some promising developments: flavoured tobacco products are banned in more than 50 countries, and over 40 countries have prohibited electronic cigarettes. He cited Belgium, Denmark, and Lithuania as countries that are taking action. The organization stressed that all tobacco products, including those where the tobacco is only heated, expose users to toxic and carcinogenic chemicals and should be strictly regulated. (DPA)
Al Jazeera
5 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Israel orders closure of al-Awda Hospital, a ‘lifeline' in north Gaza
Israel has ordered the closure of al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, leaving health officials scrambling to relocate dozens of people who remain at the medical facility, as deadly bombardment and starvation rack the besieged enclave. At least 70 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks since the early hours of Thursday. The Gaza Health Ministry called Israel's push, which forced the hospital out of commission, a 'continuation of the violations and crimes' against the medical sector in the territory. Al-Awda was the last operating hospital in northern Gaza, according to health officials. 'The Health Ministry calls on all concerned sides to ensure protection for the health system in the Gaza Strip, as guaranteed by international and humanitarian laws,' the ministry said in a statement. The World Health Organization (WHO) said 97 people, including 13 patients, are still at the hospital. The United Nations agency is planning a mission on Friday to transfer the patients to another facility. 'Due to impassable roads, the hospital's medical equipment cannot be relocated,' WHO said in a statement. 'With Al-Awda's closure, there is no remaining functional hospital in North Gaza — severing a critical lifeline for the people there.' WHO pleaded 'for the hospital's protection and staff and patients' safety'. Israel has been besieging and bombing hospitals across Gaza, killing more than 1,400 medical workers, as well as patients and the displaced taking shelter, since the beginning of the war, according to local authorities. The closure of al-Awda Hospital comes as the humanitarian crisis becomes more catastrophic by the day in Gaza, with Israel continuing its suffocating blockade on the enclave. An effort, backed by the United States and Israel, to distribute limited food supplies at specific sites run by a shadowy organisation, known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, continued to be marred by chaos on Thursday. 'We have come a long distance, around 10km [6.2 miles] to take this box tainted with blood,' Palestinian resident Saher Abu Tahoon told Al Jazeera in central Gaza. 'We need this box because there's no food to eat. We haven't seen any food or flour in five days. We went to get food for our children from a very faraway place. I can't even carry this box because I am too tired, and I am too hungry.' Multiple explosions were heard and Israeli gunfire was reported near a distribution centre in central Gaza earlier on Friday. Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud said Palestinians who walked to the newly opened aid site at the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza were unable to leave due to Israeli military activity in the area. 'Many of the people who showed up at the site are trapped right now and unable to leave the area due to the presence of Israeli tanks and armoured vehicles [and] the ongoing shooting,' Mahmoud said. 'They've been sending appeals to the Red Cross to coordinate their departure from the area. It's becoming very risky for them to walk on their own.' Israel has been pushing to bypass and sideline the United Nations from the aid distribution process, a self-serving approach critics say would further weaponise humanitarian assistance in the territory. 'The problems are that the insecurity continues, and frankly, they are not making it easy for us to deliver humanitarian goods,' Dujarric said. There are 600 aid trucks on the Gaza side of the Karem Abu Salem crossing (called Kerem Shalom by Israel), but Israel has blocked the world body from retrieving the supplies for the past three days, he added. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said 'starvation is threatening the future of the children' in the Palestinian enclave. 'What's urgently needed is a political will to allow the UN and partners to provide assistance at scale without hindrance or interruption,' Lazzarini said in a post on X. 'Allow us to do our work.' Amid the dire humanitarian conditions, Israel maintained its relentless bombardment on Thursday, killing at least 70 Palestinians in attacks across Gaza, according to medical sources. The Palestinian Civil Defence said an Israeli strike on a residential building in Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City left approximately 30 people missing under the rubble. 'Due to the lack of heavy equipment, it is not possible to recover the missing individuals from under the rubble,' the Civil Defence said in a statement. 'Therefore, we call on the international community and human rights organizations for immediate and urgent intervention to protect civilians and innocent people in the Gaza Strip.' Meanwhile, Washington said that Israel has accepted a temporary ceasefire proposal put forward by US envoy Steve Witkoff, but Hamas is still studying the plan. 'Israel signed off on this proposal before it was sent to Hamas,' White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters. 'I can also confirm that those discussions are continuing, and we hope that a ceasefire in Gaza will take place so we can return all of the hostages home.' Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim told the AFP news agency that the US proposal meant 'the continuation of killing and famine … and does not meet any of our people's demands, foremost among them halting the war.' 'Nonetheless, the movement's leadership is studying the response to the proposal with full national responsibility,' he added. Akiva Eldar, an Israeli political analyst, told Al Jazeera it was 'unusual' for Israel to come out and agree to a proposal first and that Netanyahu may be betting on the plan being impossible for Hamas to accept so that he can paint them as the 'bad guys' and continue the war. 'It happened before … and Netanyahu put the blame on them,' he said. Earlier this week, Hamas officials said the group reached an understanding for a ceasefire deal with Witkoff, but Israel and the US were quick to dismiss the assertion by the Palestinian group.
